OBSERVER Photo by Andrew David Kuczkowski Seneca Nation of Indians President Todd Gates, left, signs the water agreement to deliver water to the hamlet of Lawtons in North Collins with North Collins Town Supervisor John Tobia signing the agreement as well.

CATTARAUGUS INDIAN RESERVATION — Lawtons, a hamlet in the town of North Collins, has issued a ‘Do Not Drink’ on its water for over two years. However, the problem will soon be alleviated.

The town and the Seneca Nation of Indians have agreed on a deal that will allow Lawtons to purchase water from the Nation and construct a connection pipeline on Seneca Street.

The costs could be around 60 percent funded. It should allow Lawtons’ residents to have useable water near the end of 2018.

“I have the goosebumps. I am so happy that this thing is going to happen,” Town Supervisor John Tobia said. “I am so happy for the people of our town, it’s a lovely community. To be able to go to your faucet and get some water, wow.”

Tobia was joined alongside SNI President Todd Gates during a press conference at the William Seneca Building in Irving Monday morning. Both Gates and Tobia signed the contract, making the agreement official. According to Town Attorney Richard Schaus, the 60-percent grant was recently sent to the state and the town expects it to be approval.

The decision to go through the Seneca Nation was the cheapest out of three options. The town could have built a filtration system in the current well that runs spring water for the 37 homes — which was the most expensive. This plan also needs a water department year-round to keep up with its needs. The second option was to connect the village’s pipeline and Lawtons.

This was another expensive option due to the sheer length of the connection. Lastly, the approved option is a small connection that separates Lawtons and the reservation.

“Right now, because we are a large farming community,” Tobia said, “there is a lot of nitrates that get into the wells and you can’t prevent it unless you put a multimillion dollar filtration system and small towns across the state of New York, such as North Collins, it’s just unaffordable. So, this here is the best solution and it’s less money … and we get cleaned filtered water from our friends.”

The connection will cost around $695,000, while the other choices were around double that.

In the agreement, the Lawtons Water District could have up to an average of 20,000 gallons per day of potable water. The district is responsible for the construction and maintenance of the connection. At this point, water rates are not set.

Seneca Nation receives water from the Erie County Water Supply. The Nation previously agreed on piping water to Perrysburg, Versailles and Hanover, per Gates. This agreement reflects the same mantra: to approve the quality of life for a local community.

“Water is life and having access to safe drinking water should not be a concern for the people of our community,” Gates said. “The Seneca Nation is proud to work with the town of North Collins and the Lawtons Water District to provide this much-needed solution for our neighbors in Lawtons.”

After two years, Lawtons residents can finally remove bottled water off their shopping list requirements.